The Menace of Misinformation: Faculty Misstatements in Management Education and Their Consequences

In this essay, we explore the misinformation that management professors give to students in the classroom. Although faculty do not intend to deceive students with this misinformation, nevertheless, it can have damaging consequences, including undermining students’ well-being and limiting their aspirations. We discuss two general types of misleading statements: misinformation about the economic model (e.g., that money and material possessions lead to happiness) and misinformation about what matters in life (e.g., that career success is the most important component in the fabric of life). Most of this misinformation is deeply rooted in our materialistic culture and economic system, and a belief in profit maximization as a predominant goal. Last, we discuss ways in which faculty can escape from providing this misinformation and help students find fulfilling paths in life.

[1]  J. Zarestky,et al.  Balancing Profit and People: Corporate Social Responsibility in Business Education , 2017 .

[2]  Raúl de Arriba.  Participation and collaborative learning in large class sizes: wiki, can you help me? , 2017 .

[3]  J. Kawall.  In Defense of the Primacy of the Virtues , 2017 .

[4]  Eugene F. Soltes.  Teaching Versus Living: Managerial Decision Making in the Gray , 2017 .

[5]  H. Ma,et al.  How Can a Deontological Decision Lead to Moral Behavior? The Moderating Role of Moral Identity , 2016 .

[6]  Tiago Cardao-Pito.  A Law for the Social Sciences Regarding Us Human Beings , 2016 .

[7]  M. Higgs,et al.  Challenging the Perceived Wisdom of Management Theories and Practice , 2015 .

[8]  Laura E. Thomas,et al.  Competition makes observers remember faces as more aggressive. , 2015, Journal of experimental psychology. General.

[9]  A. Hopkins,et al.  Growth, Challenges, and Solutions over 25 Years of Mectizan and the Impact on Onchocerciasis Control , 2015, PLoS neglected tropical diseases.

[10]  Shawn M. Bergman,et al.  Narcissism, Materialism, and Environmental Ethics in Business Students , 2014 .

[11]  Jeffrey R. Spence,et al.  Expectations for Replications , 2014, Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

[12]  N. Smith,et al.  Shareholder Primacy, Corporate Social Responsibility, and the Role of Business Schools , 2014 .

[13]  Francis J. Flynn,et al.  Power, Moral Clarity, and Punishment in the Workplace , 2013 .

[14]  Timothy J. Vogus,et al.  Studying the Origins of Social Entrepreneurship: Compassion and the Role of Embedded Agency , 2013 .

[15]  Mark Promislo,et al.  Broken When Entering: The Stigmatization of Goodness and Business Ethics Education , 2013 .

[16]  Hans-Ruediger Pfister,et al.  Not Only the Miserable Receive Help: Empathy Promotes Prosocial Behaviour Toward the Happy , 2012 .

[17]  Minghua Zhang,et al.  A Comprehensive Survey of Retracted Articles from the Scholarly Literature , 2012, PloS one.

[18]  I. Savin,et al.  Absorptive capacity and innovation: when is it better to cooperate? , 2012, Journal of Evolutionary Economics.

[19]  A. Galinsky,et al.  Power Increases Social Distance , 2012 .

[20]  Joris Lammers,et al.  Power increases dehumanization , 2011 .

[21]  Richard A. Easterlin,et al.  The happiness–income paradox revisited , 2010, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[22]  Michael W. Kraus,et al.  Having less, giving more: the influence of social class on prosocial behavior. , 2010, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[23]  L. Ludlow,et al.  Can Downsizing College Class Sizes Augment Student Outcomes?: An Investigation of the Effects of Class Size on Student Learning , 2010 .

[24]  Michael W. Kraus,et al.  Social Class, Contextualism, and Empathic Accuracy , 2010, Psychological science.

[25]  C. Okechukwu,et al.  Managers' practices related to work-family balance predict employee cardiovascular risk and sleep duration in extended care settings. , 2010, Journal of occupational health psychology.

[26]  A. Galinsky,et al.  Power Increases Hypocrisy , 2010, Psychological science.

[27]  Michael W. Kraus,et al.  Social class, sense of control, and social explanation. , 2009, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[28]  D. Fanelli.  How Many Scientists Fabricate and Falsify Research? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Survey Data , 2009, PloS one.

[29]  Remus Ilies,et al.  THE SPILLOVER OF DAILY JOB SATISFACTION ONTO EMPLOYEES' FAMILY LIVES: THE FACILITATING ROLE OF WORK-FAMILY INTEGRATION , 2009 .

[30]  Michael W. Kraus,et al.  PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE Research Article Signs of Socioeconomic Status A Thin-Slicing Approach , 2022 .

[31]  C. Sedikides,et al.  Retaliation as a response to procedural unfairness: a self-regulatory approach. , 2008, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[32]  A. Rosenbloom,et al.  Piercing The Bubble , 2008 .

[33]  John R. Deckop,et al.  VALUING MONEY MORE THAN PEOPLE: THE EFFECTS OF MATERIALISM ON WORK-FAMILY CONFLICT. , 2008 .

[34]  Timothy G. Pollock,et al.  Star CEOs Benefit or burden , 2008 .

[35]  Jonathan Haidt,et al.  Morality , 2008, Perspectives on psychological science : a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.

[36]  Richard E Petty,et al.  The effects of message recipients' power before and after persuasion: a self-validation analysis. , 2007, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[37]  B. Tepper.  Abusive Supervision in Work Organizations: Review, Synthesis, and Research Agenda , 2007 .

[38]  G. Gee,et al.  Self-reported discrimination and mental health status among African descendants, Mexican Americans, and other Latinos in the New Hampshire REACH 2010 Initiative: the added dimension of immigration. , 2006, American journal of public health.

[39]  Kenneth R. Thompson,et al.  Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Education: Shifting the Worldview , 2006 .

[40]  Martin J Shipley,et al.  Justice at work and reduced risk of coronary heart disease among employees: the Whitehall II Study. , 2005, Archives of internal medicine.

[41]  Mary A. Higby,et al.  Teaching an Issues-Based Interdisciplinary Course: Diversity in Management and Marketing , 2005 .

[42]  S. Ghoshal.  Bad Management Theories Are Destroying Good Management Practices , 2005 .

[43]  C. Cheung.  Rational or demoralized responses to work restructuring in Hong Kong? , 2005 .

[44]  Eva Gemzøe Mikkelsen,et al.  Relationships between bullying, psychosocial work environment and individual stress reactions , 2004 .

[45]  J. McCall.  Assessing American Executive Compensation: A Cautionary Tale for Europeans , 2004 .

[46]  M. Seligman,et al.  Beyond Money , 2004, Psychological science in the public interest : a journal of the American Psychological Society.

[47]  Joy E. Beatty,et al.  Grades as Money and the Role of the Market Metaphor in Management Education , 2004 .

[48]  James H. Fetzer.  Disinformation: The Use of False Information , 2004, Minds and Machines.

[49]  Mark E. Koltko-Rivera.  The Psychology of Worldviews , 2004 .

[50]  D. Swanson.  The Buck Stops here: Why Universities Must Reclaim Business Ethics Education , 2004 .

[51]  Fabrizio Ferraro,et al.  Economics Language and Assumptions: How Theories Can Become Self-Fulfilling , 2003 .

[52]  L. Keltikangas-Järvinen,et al.  Sleeping problems and health behaviors as mediators between organizational justice and health. , 2003, Health psychology : official journal of the Division of Health Psychology, American Psychological Association.

[53]  F. Schmidt,et al.  Corporate Social and Financial Performance: A Meta-Analysis , 2003 .

[54]  Eva Gemzøe Mikkelsen,et al.  Bullying in Danish work-life: Prevalence and health correlates , 2001 .

[55]  C. Ring,et al.  The effects of competition and competitiveness on cardiovascular activity. , 2001, Psychophysiology.

[56]  E. Deci,et al.  Extrinsic Life Goals and Health‐Risk Behaviors in Adolescents1 , 2000 .

[57]  Dale T. Miller,et al.  The norm of self-interest. , 1999, The American psychologist.

[58]  Fritz Drasgow,et al.  Ambient Sexual Harassment: An Integrated Model of Antecedents and Consequences☆☆☆ , 1997 .

[59]  H. Hoel,et al.  A summary review of literature relating to workplace bullying , 1997 .

[60]  L R Murphy,et al.  Stress Management in Work Settings: A Critical Review of the Health Effects , 1996, American journal of health promotion : AJHP.

[61]  S. Nickell.  Competition and Corporate Performance , 1996, Journal of Political Economy.

[62]  Klaus Niedl.  Mobbing and well-being: Economic and personnel development implications. , 1996 .

[63]  Dieter Zapf,et al.  On the relationship between mobbing factors, and job content, social work environment, and health outcomes , 1996 .

[64]  R. Easterlin.  Will raising the incomes of all increase the happiness of all , 1995 .

[65]  Kennon M. Sheldon,et al.  Coherence and congruence: two aspects of personality integration. , 1995, Journal of personality and social psychology.

[66]  D. Buss,et al.  Derogation of Competitors , 1990 .

[67]  Harold J. Leavitt,et al.  Educating Our MBAs: On Teaching What We Haven't Taught , 1989 .

[68]  L. Kohlberg.  The Claim to Moral Adequacy of a Highest Stage of Moral Judgment , 1973 .

[69]  E. Lorenz.  Atmospheric Predictability as Revealed by Naturally Occurring Analogues , 1969 .

[70]  Mark Promislo,et al.  Unethical and Unwell: Decrements in Well-Being and Unethical Activity at Work , 2010 .

[71]  Cornel D. Pewewardy.  100 Defensive Tactics and Attributions: Dodging the Dialog on Cultural Diversity. , 2003 .

[72]  T. Kasser,et al.  Materialistic values and well‐being in business students , 2002 .

[73]  T. Kasser.  The High Price of Materialism , 2002 .

[74]  R. Dunlap,et al.  Measuring Endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm: A Revised NEP Scale , 2000 .

[75]  M. Stanne,et al.  Does competition enhance or inhibit motor performance: a meta-analysis. , 1999, Psychological bulletin.

[76]  David W. Johnson,et al.  Effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualistic goal structures on achievement: A meta-analysis. , 1981 .